All Deliberate Speed
by MFLuder42
Summary: Set between Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. Edward surprises Bella with a romantic trip into Seattle for the weekend when Charlie is away. This story bridges the gap between Eclipse and Breaking Dawn and fills in some of the moments we missed over the summer.
1. Ready and Waiting to Fall

Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, though I wish I could take ownership of Edward.

Be easy on me, it's my first try!

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I woke up to the light streaming through the window, unnatural, foreign light and warmth. Where am I? I thought. Then I sensed him next to me. My rock, my pillow, my air conditioner, my Edward. I couldn't figure out why he was so far away from me, but I knew I hated the distance, so I sluggishly felt around next to myself for him, reaching out and patting the space beside me where I sensed he was. He didn't leave me waiting long.

"Good morning sleepyhead," he said. How could anyone ever wake up on the wrong side of the bed with Edward next to them? "Good morning," I mumbled, still not quite awake yet. He shifted closer to me, his cool fingers brushing up my searching arm. I shivered, but clasped my hand around his bicep, well, as much as I could clasp around his bicep, and started to pull myself to him while he wrapped his arm around my back and helped me pull myself to his chest. "Mmm…," I murmured, finally able to fully take in his scent.

I heard him chuckle as he pulled me in tighter and kissed the top of my head. His head moved down to my ear as he whispered, "What are we going to do today, love?" If the feel of his cool skin against my body didn't do the trick, his cold breath against my ear and neck got the job done. I was officially awake and alert. "I don't care," I whispered back, "What is the weather like? It looks like it might be sunny outside." I wiggled a bit in his arms, not to get away, but rather to settle in again, snuggling close to his chest with my head against his shoulder.

"It's sunny right now, but the clouds will be rolling in shortly. Quite convenient." He replied to my query. "Quite," I repeated, still thinking of things we could do today. A few ideas rolled through my head that I was glad Edward couldn't see. They were the kind of ideas that didn't require us moving from the comfort of my bed at any point today. The kind of ideas where it wouldn't matter whether it was sunny or not since we wouldn't be making it outside anyway. Unfortunately, these ideas were out of the question… at least for now. The question was, should I press my luck? Before I could make my move, or even my plan of attack, Edward spoke up again.

"I have an idea. This is something I have been thinking about for awhile. I was wondering if you would be interested in accompanying me to Seattle for a day in the big city. Well, bigger city at least. Carlisle ordered some books and I offered us to pick them up for him. I though the bookstore might be of interest to you." He paused waiting for my response. Interesting, I thought. I was definitely interested, but we never really strayed far from Forks, so I was skeptical. Usually when he took me away from here, he had an ulterior motive and I wanted to know what it was up front this time around.

"That sounds like fun. Is something up?" I questioned, wiggling again until his arms loosened up and I was able to look into his eyes. Hmmm… He looked innocent enough. "Nothing," he replied. "I told Carlisle I would pick up the books because we don't get out of Forks nearly enough, and I figured you would enjoy a change of scenery. If you would prefer to stay here, I can get the books at a different time. We can find something else to do in this area."

He seemed to be telling the truth and to be honest, I needed to get out of Forks, if only for a day. I scrutinized his face a bit more, and then replied, "I think you're right. We do spend a lot of time around here. Let's get out and see some things. You know how I have been wanting to get to a proper bookstore since I moved here anyway." He smiled, "Alright, it's settled. I am going to run back to my house to get my car and change. I will be back shortly." He bent in and softly kissed my forehead, then slowly trailed his lips to my temple to place a feather light kiss there before kissing each cheek. As he went in to kiss the tip of my nose I struggled to reach my lips up to capture his mouth with my own. He chuckled at my effort before placing a chaste kiss on my struggling lips. My attempts to deepen the kiss were futile, and he pulled away, smirking at the pout that suddenly became evident on my face as he made his way to the window. "I'll be back soon," he said, "We have all day. Patience, love."

I sighed as he exited out the window to retrieve his car, and then picked up my clothes and headed to the bathroom. I showered as quickly as possible and got out to get dressed, brush my teeth and do my hair. As I was working on the "do my hair" portion of my routine, the delicious smell of eggs and bacon wafted through my now-open door. Edward must be back.

I hastily finished my hair and made my way downstairs and asked, "Breakfast time?" as he turned to me with a full plate in his hand and my favorite crooked smile on his face. He crossed the room and pulled my chair out for me. As I sat, he simultaneously placed the mouthwatering food in front of me while pushing my chair in. The consummate gentleman. I inhaled deeply and breathed out a quick, "Thank you," before diving into my breakfast.

He moved around the table and seated himself in Charlie's usual chair to watch me eat. "So," I started in between bites, "the food is delicious, as usual." He smiled in response, always savoring the opportunity to do something that pleased me. "I'm glad you are enjoying it, as usual," he replied. I enjoyed the breakfast so much, I finished it in record time. He grabbed my dishes and told me to "go grab a sweatshirt, or a coat," since we would be taking a walk and seeing some sights in Seattle, and it can get cold there, even during the day. I ran upstairs to get the proper cool weather attire and then made my way back downstairs, meeting Edward at the door.

Charlie was quite conveniently out of town for the weekend, no there were no lies necessary on our way out the door to the car. In all of the time I had been living with Charlie, I had never seen him go on any type of vacation, so when he told me some friends from the station has asked him to come up to their cabin a couple of hours away to fish over the weekend, I was surprised, but not upset at all. He even asked me if I minded being left alone and if I would feel safe being home alone for the weekend, particularly at night. Little did he know I was never alone at night, but still… I assured him everything would be fine, and that I would call Alice to see if she wanted to come over and spend the night. He seemed content with that, mostly because I think he really wanted to go fishing at the cabin with his friends.

So, Edward held the door for me as we hopped into the Volvo before walking around car to get in his side to take off. No one had ever held the door for me before I met Edward, and I had never expected it in a relationship, but honestly, I loved it. Everything about Edward was perfect, manners and chivalry included. He let himself in and we headed to the highway. As we were getting on the interstate, he reached between the seats and grabbed out a new cd and put it in the player. "What is that?" I asked as the music started. "Oh, just something new I thought I'd try," he commented. "Do you like it?" I listened for a few more bars, "Yes, I think I do." I replied. It was interesting. I had definitely never heard this band before, but it felt familiar, calming… the kind of music that made you happy to be wherever you were.

We made it to Seattle in record time, no doubt, and immediately drove to Pike Place Market to begin our afternoon of sightseeing and picking up Carlisle's books. We decided to begin at the bookstore, then to walk around and see the sights in the area. I had been here so rarely, everything was still fresh and new to me. We walked down the street until we got to the bookstore, which looked like a hole in the wall at first glance, but upon entering through the rickety old door, clearly held literary treasures. I breathed in a quiet gasp, which of course, Edward heard. "Do you like it?" he questioned as he came up behind me, wrapping his long arm around my waist, his mouth whispering in my ear. I shivered from the sudden contact and replied, "Yes, I do." He kissed my cheek and said, "Let's look around and see what we can find."

I nodded and we headed forward into the store, the elderly shop owner smiling at us from behind the counter, before heading back into the storeroom. Edward and I looked through the various stacks of books on the shelves, when one in particular stopped me in my tracks. Wow. This was cool. An early edition of Pride and Prejudice. I slowly reached up and pulled the book out from the shelf. Amazing. It was in decent condition too, not perfect by any means, but it was still very interesting to see. Edward smiled at me as I looked at the book, and said, "I think we should probably get that book." I replied immediately, "No!" I mean seriously, there was no way this book was cheap.

"And yet, you will receive it anyway. Get used to it. With me you will be denied nothing. You need to start getting comfortable with receiving gifts if you're going to be my wife." I didn't protest during his little monologue, but muttered sarcastically under my breath, "maybe I'll change my mind." He laughed out loud as he pulled me toward the register, pulling my left hand to his mouth and placing a light kiss on his mother's ring, my ring, then flipping my hand and kissing my palm, then my wrist before intertwining our fingers and placing our hands up on the shopkeeper's counter, as if to show off. Somebody was in a playful mood today.

The elderly shop owner smiled at us as he returned to his post, a thick stack of ancient books in his arms. Clearly, the Cullens' were regulars at this particular store. "One more to add Mr. Cullen?" the shop owner asked. "Yes, this one is for my fiancé, Bella," he said, his voice oozing with pride as our intertwined hands up on the counter showed off my ring. "I see, well she is as lovely as the day is long. You are a very lucky man Mr. Cullen," the shop owner stated, smiling his approval at us. "The luckiest man on earth," Edward agreed as he bent in to kiss my now blazing cheek, then released my hand to pull out money to pay for the books. When he had finished paying for the books, we exited the shop and stowed them in the trunk of his car. As the trunk door slammed shut, he looked up at me with a smile in his eyes and asked me what I would like to do next.

"I figured you have everything all planned out," I replied honestly. I knew Edward better than that, of course he would have everything planned out, but he would always take the opportunity to ask me what I wanted first, dying for me to take the offer seriously and to actually ask for what I wanted. He was going to end up disappointed today. I was going to make him choose. He knew the city better than I did anyway, and I was sure whatever he had planned for us was going to be better than anything I could come up with anyway. He looked a bit sheepish, realizing he had been caught again, "Well yes, I do have something lined up, if that is what you would like to do, but we have some free time beforehand. I thought you might like to see some of the city before our evening plans start." Interesting, evening plans. I liked the sound of evening plans, particularly when Charlie was out of town for the weekend and I had nowhere to be tomorrow, except with Edward.

"Sounds good to me," I replied. "Should we check out the market?" He smiled brightly, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

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This is just the first chapter. I've never written these before, so I'm a tad nervous about posting this. I'm working to update shortly when I finish chapter 2. Let me know how I'm doing.


	2. Those Days You Felt Alive

**So, here's chapter 2. I hope you like it. Thanks to the people who commented or added me. I wasn't expecting anything, so that was a pleasant surprise. **

**I still don't own Twilight or the characters. **

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When we had finished putting the newly purchased books in the trunk of the Volvo, I turned to Edward. "So, where to?" I questioned. "We're very close to the market right here. Let's just walk down to that area and take in the sights," he said, slipping his arm around my waist and throwing me one of those brilliant smiles. I nodded and grinned back at him as we made our way through the streets of Seattle down to the market area. He stopped us a few times to show me different little nuances in the architecture and interesting little buildings of historical significance. My own personal tour guide. I was guessing he could give tours in nearly every major city on the globe. It got me thinking about where he had been and the different places he had seen. I wondered if there were cities he had not had the opportunity to travel to yet.

"So, this is a nice break from the wedding planning," I commented as we approached the market area.

Alice was getting manic. I was fairly sure she was possessed. We had planned, and re-planned and tweaked every tiny detail to death – and that was just the parts she let me in on. Apparently, the real surprise would be happening at the wedding, and I wasn't allowed to be in on the full wedding day plans. Naturally, the lack of detail did not bother me the way it would have bothered other brides. I was happy to be in the dark on as many details as possible. I was well prepared for the details I had say in though, like the cake for example. The cake-tasting was a day to remember. Since I was the only one in the room who would actually be eating the cake, it was up to me to taste everything and make all the decisions. Even thinking about cake now makes me a bit queasy.

"Yes, I thought it would be nice to get away for the weekend." Ah, so, we were going to be here for the weekend, apparently.

"The weekend?" I questioned.

"Yes, is that okay? I've arranged a place for us to stay for the evening, unless you would like to go home," he said, knowing full well I would want to stay.

"Where is it? It's a surprise, isn't it?" I asked, trying to hide the distain in my voice, but not totally succeeding.

"Naturally," he replied with a smirk. I rolled my eyes as we headed into the market to see the various goods available.

Pike's Market is incredible. There are so many things going on, it gets hard to narrow down to one activity. There is fresh fish and other foods available everywhere, the biggest bouquets of flowers I have ever seen, and vendors selling handmade crafts. We decided to wander through the crafts first, looking at the various paintings and jewelry available for sale. When my stomach suddenly growled, Edward looked down and sighed, "You should tell me when you get hungry."

"I didn't realize I was hungry until now, " I replied quickly. "Honestly Edward, I'm just having a good time looking around. Now that I'm thinking about it, I do believe it is time to grab some food." Edward directed me to the nearest sandwich shop and I got a meal that would keep me going for awhile longer. We moved out of the tent area and sat down on a park bench overlooking the ocean.

"I like it here," I commented before diving into my sandwich and chips.

"I'm glad," Edward replied back, putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer to his side. I looked up and smiled between bites and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"So, are you going to tell me about tonight yet, or am I going to be left in the dark until the moment arrives?" I asked.

"Well, I am going to have to let you in on some of it before tonight rolls around. Alice has some very specific instructions on how she would like this evening to play out. You know what happens when you choose to go against what Alice says." He chuckled a bit, and then shrugged at me. "I have an overnight bag for you in the car. Alice said she packed everything you would need."

That was a scary thought. Alice's idea of appropriate evening wear had not rubbed off on me even remotely. I chewed on my sandwich and continued to flip through the different possibilities of what the evening could possibly hold in my head.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked, cocking his head to the side and obviously trying to figure out the inner workings of my brain.

"Nothing's wrong, I am just thinking of the different possibilities for what this weekend away from home could entail, and why it would become necessary for Alice to pack for me. Alice's shopping always makes me a bit anxious," I said grinning at him, trying to make him more comfortable. I got a half-smile in return.

"She wouldn't allow me to see what she had purchased for you, but she told me we would both be appreciative of her choices." He replied back. He looked a bit nervous himself, which wasn't a promising sign, but if I had to be in the dark, I was glad he was too.

I sighed, resigned to the fact that Alice was going to do whatever Alice wanted to do. It was something I loved about her, even when it annoyed me. She wouldn't be Alice without that quality. Edward began to rub small circles on my back and neck as I finished up the last couple of bites of my food. We sat in silence for a few minutes, me leaning into him, him rubbing my back, both of us staring out over the ocean. It was one of those moments I was trying to burn into my memory. There was nothing terribly significant about the moment, I just wanted to remember the peace and calm I felt sitting with him on this park bench overlooking the ocean in Seattle. A mental picture of the moment to remember right now.

I was broken out of my reverie by an all too familiar question from Edward, "What are you thinking?" he asked.

I turned to him and chuckled before craning my neck up to kiss him softly on the lips. He sighed appreciatively and smiled down at me, clearly pleased with my reaction to his question. "I was thinking about how content I am right now, right here in this moment with you. These are the things I want to remember forever. You're lucky you don't forget anything."

I snuggled closer to his side and rested my head on his shoulder. He tightened his grip around me and leaned in to kiss my temple softly, then the top of my head, pausing to inhale the smell of my hair.

"I can't fully express how much I love you," he whispered into my hair before kissing my head and caressing my cheek with his hand.

"I love you too," I whispered back. "Forever."

He gazed down at me a smiled brilliantly. He was getting used to the idea of me joining him, or at least, he was complaining about my decision far less than he had before. He wasn't letting me see how much it bothered him that the day I would become a vampire was rapidly approaching. Maybe he was using reverse psychology, or something.

"We have a couple of hours before it's time to head over to final destination. Would you like to go for a walk until it's time to get ready?" he asked. I nodded and we stood to walk through the park, still right along the ocean, taking in the sights. He started with his arm around my waist, but then moved his hand down to my hip.

This was new. His hand was only about 3 inches lower than the place it usually rested, but the feeling was something different entirely. I tried to play it cool as my mind reeled at his new hand position. This was pathetic. I was getting worked up over his hand on my hip. I looked up at him, trying to place a nonchalant look on my face, but was clearly unsuccessful by the smirk plastered on Edward's face. Teasing me further, he gently squeezed my hip and slowly rubbed his hand just slightly up and down. I could feel the blush rising in my cheeks. Again, I felt embarrassed that the simple gesture of moving his hand from my waist to my hip affected me so much. The embarrassment only deepened the blush. I heard Edward chuckle slightly at my side and I looked up and shot him a dirty look, which only increased his amusement. My assumption from earlier in the morning was correct, I was dealing with "playful Edward" today. I decided to use it to my advantage.

I had to be brave! I turned on him using the most seductive, alluring look I could muster (at least, I hoped that's what it looked like), batted my eyelashes and murmured, "Why Edward Cullen, what could possibly be so amusing?"

He broke into a smile before stopping short as I pulled my trump card. I slowly ran my hand down his chest and over his stomach, stopping just over his belt. That wiped the smile off of his face immediately, satisfying me immensely. He had a shocked sort of look, not quite like a fish out of water, but close enough. He hadn't expected me to be so bold, particularly in public. Truth be told, I hadn't expected me to be that bold either. He recovered from his surprise, and very purposefully put on his best dazzling smile. I beckoned him closer with my finger, then gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Cut it out," I said with a smirk as I turned to continue our walk. He followed behind me, and when I turned back to look at him, he had an amused look on his face. He was enjoying the playful mood of the day as much as I was. I grabbed his hand and placed it back on my hip before looking up to smile at him again.

We walked along like that for a long time, just enjoying each other's company in silence. We would only stop to steal a glance at one another, or to quickly steal a kiss. We were having the perfect afternoon. I decided to break the silence by asking him a question I had on my mind for quite awhile.

"Edward?" I asked.

"Yes Bella?" he replied, turning to face me.

"I was wondering." _Hmmm… how should I phrase this… best to just lay it out there. _"Is there any human experience you wish you would have had? Or, something you have never done that you have always wanted to do?" I had been curious about this for awhile. I wanted to make his dreams come true as much as he wanted to make mine come true.

He looked perplexed as he studied my face trying to get some deeper meaning in the words I had just spoken. "I was just wondering. I mean, I told you the human experience I wanted, and I guess I was just wondering what experiences I could give to you. Things we could do together." I continued, feeling slightly embarrassed now, but still too curious to stop. I opened my mouth to continue, but he put his hand over my lips to stop me.

"Bella, I have you. You have given me so many incredible experiences already, and after you marry me, I will have had every experience I ever wanted. There isn't anything else I want," he smiled down on me.

"Everything?" I questioned. There had to be something he had never done before. A place he had never visited. Anything!

"Well," he said, smiling sweetly at me, "as nervous as I am, I'm looking forward to the experience we will share on our honeymoon as well. But, I could live without that. It's you I can't exist without. The wedding means I get to call you my wife. And that is the experience I am looking forward to more than anything."

"I'm looking forward to that too, but isn't there anywhere you haven't been? Anywhere you've always wanted to go, but haven't? Or an experience? I just want to take you to do something you have never done, or somewhere you have never been. Something we can experience for the first time together." I looked up at him and he nodded at me.

"Let me think about it for awhile. I'll figure out something we can do and when I do, you'll be the first to know. Sound good?"

"Yes. That sounds fair," I replied. I hoped he was taking me seriously. He looked serious and he hated to disappoint me, so I was sure he would come up with something he had never done before. He hadn't walked the earth long enough to have every experience possible.

"Good," he said kissing me swiftly. "I believe it is time to head toward our final destination for this evening."

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**So that does it for this chapter. I'm hoping to update and post chapter 3 up shortly. I really do appreciate the reviews I have gotten so far. Thanks everyone, but especially Car who inspired me to actually write some of the crazy stuff in my head down on paper. PLC! **


	3. On Your Porch

**So, everything kind of got away from me between finals and the holidays, so I have been extremely lax in writing/updating. I apologize. Here is Chapter 3, and Chapter 4 should be up shortly, for real this time. As a side note, all of the chapter titles are names of songs I love. The lyrics are not necessarily indicative of the chapter content, I just love music so song title chapters made sense to me.  
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**Again, as much as I wish I owned Twilight, I do not. **

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Hand in hand we started to walk back toward the car. Even with the clouds, it was obvious the sun was beginning to set in Seattle. We approached the car and rather than grabbing the bags, Edward opened the passenger door for me.

"Where to?" I inquired, still mostly in the dark about our destination.

"Down to the docks," he said, tilting his head and smiling at me.

"May I ask what is at the docks? I mean, other than the obvious," I questioned.

"What makes you assume we are headed to something other than the obvious?" He replied, clearly amused.

I shrugged, not quite sure what could have been there. So, we were headed to a boat, or something boat-like at a minimum. I cocked my head to the side and looked at him for a moment. He still had that cocky grin on his face. He loved doing this type of thing, and I loved anything that made him happy, so, it seemed tonight was going to be a good night, even though I was starting to get the impression that the surprise was more than I bargained for.

We rode in comfortable silence, other than the music playing in the background, which Edward hummed along with softly. As we drove, I took in the sights of the city, and continued to work on remembering as much about each moment as possible. Edward maneuvered us through traffic with ease, with one hand on the steering wheel and the other rubbing circles on my hand. It felt wonderful. I was so lucky to be able to find him, for him to find me, for us to fall in love and work through all of the various obstacles we did in order to be together. What are the odds? My true love was an impossibility. I wondered if others were plagued with this problem – did the person one was perfectly matched with transcend time frequently? I felt bad for everyone who lived their lives without ever finding the kind of love I had with Edward.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I jerked in surprise when Edward squeezed my hand and said, "Love, we're here." I looked up at the dock and saw several very large boats docked. Yachts, really. The one directly in front of us had the lights on.

"What were you thinking while we were driving?" he asked. He would never tire of that question. "I noticed your facial expressions changing and it made me curious," he said, smiling down at me.

"I was thinking of all of the reasons why is has been difficult for us to be together, and why every difficult moment was completely worth it. I have you. Most people will never get to have what we have, and it made me feel bad for them," I replied.

He nodded in agreement, and said, "We really are very lucky in so many ways. I have replayed everything that has gone wrong and everything that could go wrong a million times in my head, but when it comes down to it, I would do anything to keep you. Anything to make you happy and make you feel even a fraction of the love I feel for you. Because of my gift, I have seen every type of love there is in the world, but what we have is extremely rare. We are very lucky indeed."

Edward smiled at me and got out of the car and quickly walked to my side to open my door. I got out of the vehicle and he shut the door before making his way back to the trunk to grab our overnight bags. It was then when I noticed two garment bags hanging over his arm, in addition to our other small bags. My eyes narrowed at the sight initially, there was sure to be a dress in there for me, but the thought of Edward wearing a suit was so appealing that I got over fear of whatever Alice had purchased almost immediately.

Seeing my rapid change in expression again, he raised an eyebrow at me, clearly asking me his favorite question mentally. I flushed, slightly embarrassed I had been caught, but said, "Just curious what is hiding in the garment bags." He nodded back at me, clearly understanding I was not being entirely honest, but choosing to not push me on the issue.

"Shall we?" He questioned, nodding at the yacht.

"We shall," I replied, turning in the direction of the dock and the walk up plank to the main deck of the vessel. Edward stood close behind me as we walked up the plank. He had adjusted our overnight bags to the same arm as the garment bags, and I was fairly certain he had his arm out and ready, waiting for me to trip up the plank and into the ocean. I made sure to be particularly careful on the way up, keeping my eyes on my feet to make sure I didn't trip over a stray board, or even over my own feet.

We reached the top of the plank without incident and were met by a man wearing a tux. This caught me off guard. After all of my careful work walking up the plank without tripping, I was so startled by the man in the tux that I nearly missed the step down onto the deck. The man in the tux reached to steady me, but of course, Edward was faster. His arm quickly snaked out before the tux man's help became necessary.

I had reached out my hand as I was tripping, so the man in the tux had reached up and took it to help me onto the boat, even though Edward's arm was around my waist. He was eying all of the bags in Edward's arms and was clearly, albeit needlessly concerned about the strain on Edward. He looked down at my hand and I saw him give my engagement ring a quick glance as I stepped down onto the boat.

The man let go of my hand as I stepped down onto the deck and I looked up at Edward in time to see his lips go from being tense, to turning up at the corners ever so slightly.

"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Cullen," the tux man said. My name is David and I will be your host this evening."

Now I knew why Edward was trying to hide his smile. This man thought we were already married and he just called me "Mrs. Cullen" and Edward knew he was going to say that because Edward could read his mind. Wow. I felt the ever familiar flush hit my cheeks. This was the first time anyone other than Edward had called me "Mrs. Cullen." I liked it. A lot. Even more than a lot. And even without being able to read my mind, Edward could tell just how much I loved hearing David call me "Mrs. Cullen," as he grinned down at me, then bent slightly to kiss my temple softly. He could read me like a book.

"Now, if you'll follow me, I will show you to your room," host David said as he bowed and then turned to walk into the cabin.

"Thank you, David," Edward said smiling.

We followed him into the cabin and to our room. The yacht was gorgeous. It was like nothing I had ever seen in reality before, and it just got better when David opened the door to our room.

"Wow," I breathed. Wow was an understatement. The room was much larger than I expected for a room aboard a boat and was very tastefully decorated. Everything looked expensive without reaching the point of gaudy. The colors of the chairs, carpet and bedspread were neutrals with gold accents and the bed frame was dark wood. The paintings on the walls were real oil paintings, and they were beautiful. There was a vase of red roses on the dark wood desk, which stood out in stark contrast to the rest of the predominantly white room.

"Your closet is the here on the left side of the room and the bathroom is through the door on the left side. Dinner will be served when you come up to the main deck. There is a phone located on the desk and you can reach me at any time by dialing '0' on the keypad. Please do not hesitate to call for anything you need," David said.

"Thank you," Edward said again as David nodded and showed himself out of the room.

"So Mrs. Cullen, what do you think?" Edward asked, barely able to keep the smile off his face. He knew I loved it. Even I could feel the shock still apparent on my face.

I broke into a huge smile. "You know I love it, Mr. Cullen," I said, putting extra emphasis on "Mr." He chucked at my response. "This is really too much Edward. It's amazing, but too much. And also," I said before he could butt in and tell me some sweet flowery reason why there is nothing he wouldn't give me, "technically, I am not Mrs. Cullen yet."

"Yet," he repeated, his eyes moving from jovial to smoldering. The change made me shiver, and Edward certainly noticed as he set our things on the nearby table and quickly stalked toward me, invading my personal space and making me melt with the heat in his eyes.

"But you will be soon," he whispered as he stared intensely down at me, placing his hands softly against either side of my face then slowly, painfully slowly, moved his fingers down my cheeks, down my neck, to my shoulders. His lips followed his left hand, placing feather-soft kisses starting at my temple and working down my cheek to my neck. He gave both sides of my neck attention, kissing all the way across my throat, sweeping from left to right and then back again as his hands started down from my shoulders to my arms. I found feel the goose bumps raise up on my arms as his hands glided down to my wrists and his mouth moved to my collarbone. My left collarbone first, but then he worked his way over to the right collarbone as he moved his hands to my waist and then down those extra three inches lower to my hips, where he started to rub small circles with his thumbs.

My breathing was embarrassingly loud at this point and my knees felt shockingly weak. He moved his mouth back up my neck and gently blew across it, causing me to shiver, hard. Continuing rubbing circles on my hipbones, he pulled away contact with his mouth and whispered into my ear, "Open your eyes Bella." It was only then I realized how tightly shut my eyes were. I slowly opened my eyes, hyper-aware of my ragged breathing, and looked up at him, knowing the look in my eyes had to match the fire roaring in his. Edward slowly moved his mouth to mine. It was like none of our previous kisses. The passion in this kiss was more reckless than usual, and too quickly, Edward pulled away, gently breaking the tight grip I had around his neck. Funny, I didn't even realize my arms had acted of their own accord to pull him closer.

He put his forehead to mind and we stared into each other's eyes until our breathing calmed, leaving both of us there grinning like idiots.

"I love you," I said, breaking the silence.

"You are my eternity," he replied back, leaning in to kiss me softly on the lips. After kissing me a second time, Edward pulled back and said, "I believe it is time to get ready for dinner. We have all night to be alone in our room." He gave me the crooked I loved more than anything and then wagged his eyebrows a bit to prove he was still in the playful mood we had started the day with. I laughed and he let go of me to grab my garment bag and overnight bag sitting on the table. He took them into the bathroom and then came back out to the main room where I was waiting.

"Everything is in the bathroom for you. I am quite curious to see what kind of punishment Alice imposed upon you and what kind of gift it will end up being for me," he said smiling. "I am going to get ready out here. I will be waiting for you."

"I guess we'll see," I said with a smile as I crossed the room and entered the bathroom. My nervousness was overwhelming.

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**Dinner in the next chapter! I promise I'll get it up very soon. Again, I'm sorry it's been so long between updates and I really appreciate the people who have added the story and the people who have reviewed. **


	4. Crashin'

**Yikes, forgot this for a second. I do not own Twilight. **

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I entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind me, and was once again stunned by the beauty of my surroundings. The bathroom was predominantly white, neutral and gold, like the bedroom and there was a vase of irises on the counter in front of the mirror. There were expensive looking soaps in various places, a giant walk in shower, and an even bigger bathtub. How did this all fit onto a boat?

I saw the garment bag hanging on the backside of the door and sighed as I reached toward the zipper to face my doom. I pulled the zipper back to reveal a deep blue silk dress. It was a deep, navy color and the material was clearly expensive. The dress was a halter style and it looked like the V in the front came down lower than I was accustomed to. Oh dear. It looked like the back came down very far too. Far enough that I knew just by looking there was no way I would be able to wear a bra with this dress. Great. Thanks Alice.

There was a small bag hanging around the top part of the hanger with a note attached. "Open me!" Definitely Alice's handwriting.

I opened the small bag and found, very pretty, thin, lacy underwear in the same deep blue as the dress. I blushed even looking at them, read a second note, which was pinned to the underwear. "Wear these under the dress so you won't have underwear lines. Your confidence will go up once you have them on… Trust me."

I had never had anything quite like these underwear before. They were tasteful, but still more sexy than anything I had ever worn before. I unpinned the note and set the underwear on the counter mulling over what Edward might think of my current underwear versus the ones Alice had provided me as I began to get undressed. Not that he would be seeing either until after the wedding, but the more I studied the underwear on the counter and compared them to the cotton I was wearing, the more I wanted to go shopping for something a bit closer to Alice's selection. Alice would be thrilled.

I switched underwear then moved to the dress, putting it on. I had to hand it to Alice. She was good. The dress fit perfectly. I was right, the V in the front of the dress dipped a bit lower than I was used to. Not too far down, but far enough that I blushed a bit when looking at myself. Most girls wouldn't bat an eye at wearing something like this, but it was going to take some getting used to for me. The dress hugged my hips and curves and ended just above my knees. At least it wasn't too short. Also, Alice was right, no underwear lines.

I turned to look at the back, and was unnerved by now naked I felt wearing the backless dress. Edward would know I wasn't wearing a bra. This brought on a whole new round of blushing. I did my best to push the embarrassment away and started working on psyching myself up as I straightened up, pushed my shoulders back and looked at myself in the mirror. I can do this.

I made my way over to the overnight bag and opened it to see what else Alice had in store for me. There was a bag inside the bag with a third note attached to the top. "For dinner. Everything for sleeping and for tomorrow is under this bag."

I pulled the top bag out and opened it to reveal a small bag of makeup, some hair products, deodorant, perfume and a shoe box. Oh no. I opened the box to reveal shoes reminiscent of prom night. The shoes were the same deep blue as the dress and the underwear and had a note on top of them, "Everything will be okay. You won't trip. Trust me." They were very simple heels with no straps, but a tall heel. The butterflies in my stomach were fluttering on overdrive.

I pushed the shoes out of my head as I looked at the makeup and followed the instructions Alice had attached to each product. The overall effect was great. She had picked simple shades and products that were easy to use. After I was finished with the makeup, I messed with my hair a bit, put on the deodorant and a tiny bit of perfume. I saw another note at the bottom of the bag.

"You are beautiful! Be confident and sexy and go stun Edward. Please don't hate me for the heels.

Love you, Alice"

I smiled and began to work on psyching myself up again. I put on the shoes and then really took a moment to look to at myself in the full length mirror. I felt a little jolt of surprise at the reflection looking back at me. I looked amazing. I felt the warmth in my cheeks and for once it didn't look embarrassing, it looked pretty. Or maybe it always looked pretty, and I didn't realize it until now. I put my hands on my hips, posing a bit and could just barely feel the underwear under the dress. I felt… sexy. Maybe Alice was onto something here about pretty underwear making a person feel good. Magic, sexy, confidence-boosting underwear. Maybe not, but I was going to pretend anyway.

I took a deep breath and walked to the door, pausing with my hand on the handle, closing my eyes and saying a silent prayer everything would go alright. I opened the door to reveal Edward's back to me. He was wearing a tux again. I loved Edward in a tux, so this was just as much a gift for me as my dress was a gift for him. He turned slowly to look at me, his eyes starting at my face then slowly moving down my dress all the way to my shoes and back up again. I could feel the blush rising up in my cheeks as he crossed the room before I had the chance to fully take in the glory that was Edward in a tuxedo. I supposed there would be time for that later.

The smile on his face was stunning as he reached me, wrapping me in a hug and kissing me softly as he gasped softly. His cold hands had met the bare skin of my back. He pulled me a bit closer and looked down over my shoulder at his hands on my back. My face exploded with red in embarrassment, but when I felt him shudder and sigh, my confidence grew. I had an effect on him too, apparently.

"It appears, Alice is trying to help us push our boundaries in preparation for our honeymoon," he said quietly before pushing me back a bit to look into my eyes, then continued, "Remind me to thank her for that. You look stunningly beautiful Bella. There is nothing I have ever seen that compares to your beauty."

"You're not too bad yourself," I replied back, attempting to look coy. I think it worked. He chuckled and pulled me closer to kiss me with a bit more intensity and glided his hands over the silk covering my hips. This reminded of my new underwear, which reminded me to be confident. I reached up and took his face with my hands and softly rubbed my thumbs over his cheeks before running my tongue over his slightly parted lips, and kissing him softly before pulling back to look at him. He shuddered again as my tongue ran over his lips. That was twice tonight. His eyes slowly opened and he was giving me a look that could have set the world on fire.

"Bella," he sighed, "we should probably go to dinner before you tempt me into staying here for the rest of the night."

"I think we should stay here," I answered, running my hands down his chest, but the moment had passed and we promised we were going to wait. It was probably for the best we were heading to dinner rather than staying in the room. It would give both of us a chance to cool off a bit. I watched as Edward's eyes turned from smoldering back to playful. Why does he get to be so good at restraining himself when I have so much trouble? Though, I did make him shudder… twice.

"Come on little temptress. You need food. It has been hours since your last meal," Edward grinned at me and shifted me toward the door. He rested his hand against my lower back, his fingers lightly rubbing on my exposed skin. "I am pleasantly surprised you decided to wear the heels Alice packed for you. Another thing I should thank her for when we get back to Forks. Don't worry, I'll make sure you won't fall," he continued as we made our way up to the main deck for dinner.

We were met with cool night air upon arrival on the deck, and Edward made to move away from me as I shivered. "Please don't," I asked and he moved closer again, but made sure no part of his skin touched mine in an attempt to keep me slightly warmer. Edward led me to the back of the deck and it was then I could see the table set up. Luckily, there were heaters all around the table, so I wouldn't be affected by the cool night air. As we reached the table, Edward pulled my chair out for me and pushed it in as I sat. As he walked around the table to seat himself, I saw a waiter move toward our table with our first course.

Edward watched me, smiling as I worked my way through the most delicious salad I had ever consumed. He pushed his salad around on the plate a bit, to make it look like he had eaten some himself.

"Edward, I still think this is too much," I started in again. "What prompted all of this?" I questioned.

"What? Am I not allowed to surprise my fiancé with a romantic weekend to get her mind off the stress of our upcoming wedding?" was his reply. He sounded a bit too innocent to me, and he had that smile he reserved for when he was doing something he shouldn't be doing. I cocked an eyebrow at him as the waiter removed our salad plates and brought out the main course. "Okay, that was only part of the reason for bringing you here. I have a few gifts for you as well," he conceded.

"Gifts?! You have got to be kidding Edward. After all of this, you still spent money on me?" I was mad now. He knew how I felt about surprises and gifts that threw us further out of balance and here he was brazenly breaking all of my rules about these types of things. Breaking the rules many times over.

He looked sheepish, and I knew whatever the gifts were, they were going to be expensive. "Please be reasonable Bella," he started. Yep, they were going to be expensive. His mouth tightened a bit, but then he took a deep breath and said, "Bella, please do not deny me the pleasure of giving you the things you deserve in life. Also, we already made a deal about two of the items in question, so you are just going to have to accept the gifts whether you like them or not."

What did he mean, "We already made a deal?" The only thing we had made a deal on was my truck, which had died last week. I was still in mourning over the loss. Edward had made a deal with me that he got to pick my truck's replacement when it died, and I had been suffering from extreme stress over what he was going to pick and… wait. Two?

"Edward, what do you mean, two?" There was the sheepish, guilty look again. Oh no. "Please tell me you didn't buy me two cars to replace my truck." Oh my gosh, he did.

"Technically, I only bought you one car. Your "after" car. The "before" car I have for you is on loan. It will be returned after your change. Would you like to know about the cars?" he asked.

"NO!" I spit out the word a little more loudly than I had intended. Though, apparently, he had expected this particular reaction. I did not feel he was showing the appropriate amount of fear.

"What do you mean the "before" car and the "after" car? Edward, why would I need a "before" car and an "after" car?" My volume was rising with every word. I glanced over at the waiter who seemed unsure what was going on. Edward noted this.

"Bella," he began quietly, "you are scaring the waiter and now he is trying to listen in on what we are discussing. The "before" car just has a few extra safety features I would like you to have while you are still human. Nothing really of note," his lips twitched up a bit into a grin. "I just want you to be safe. I promise you I will return the "before" car after the change."

I was mad, but I didn't want to press the issue with other people around. This was definitely something I planned on bringing up when we got back to Forks.

"Am I going to be upset when I see the car?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Absolutely!" he said with a breathtaking smile. I frowned at him, but we both knew he had won this battle and nothing I said was going to change that fact.

"We are going to discuss this later," I threatened, cutting my steak and taking a bite as if to emphasize that I meant business. Again, we both knew my threat was hollow. We had made a deal. His smile grew.

"I look forward to it," he answered. Playful Edward again. Sometimes I felt like he enjoyed teasing me, or fighting with me, when he knew he would win in the end. I had just put another bite in my mouth when Edward said, "There is another matter to discuss." I almost choked and he took this opportunity to continue while my mouth was full. "Since you are already mad at me, I figure I should give you everything now, so you have plenty of time to get over your anger before tonight."

I swallowed quickly in an attempt to break into his speech, but he held up a hand to stop me.

"Bella, this is something you might not like, but as you are going to be my wife soon, everything I own is yours too, including money. Gas for your car is going to be more expensive because you have to use the special grade and I would not feel right about making you pay more for gas because of my choice in vehicles for you." He reached in his pocket and pulled out an all too familiar looking black credit card. A black credit card I had seen Alice use on many shopping trips. A credit card that made salespeople treat you differently when they saw it. He put the card down on the table and slid it across to me. It had my name on it. Well, the name I would be taking in a few short weeks. Isabella M. Cullen. I ran my finger over my name, and even though I wanted to be mad, I couldn't work up to it. He took this as a positive sign and continued.

"I have added your name to all of my accounts, and you are able to purchase anything you want or need with the card. It was easier to add you as Isabella Cullen, as we would need to change everything shortly if I would have put you in as Isabella Swan. I hope that does not upset you," he said, seeming nervous by my silence.

"No, it makes sense," I said, running my finger over my name again. Isabella M. Cullen. And it did make sense. I mean, I wasn't going to use it as much as I could help it, but he was right, we were going to be married soon, and this is something that came with marriage. I looked up at him, smiled, and said, "Thank you." He looked thoroughly confused. I guessed this was a testament to how poorly I typically behave when being given something, like for example, the cars. He decided not to press for more information, though I could tell it was eating him up inside. He reached into his pocket again and pulled out his cell phone. He put it on the table and pushed it toward me like he had with the credit card.

The confusion on my face was evident, so he continued, "This is for you as well. It's for emergencies, or for whatever else you may need. I programmed all of our numbers into the phone, and like the credit card, the cell phone is attached to my account."

"Oh," I replied, startled. This seemed to make sense too. I had always used the landline at Charlie's place. This would make getting in touch with Edward while he was hunting more convenient, that was for sure. Edward seemed unnerved by how well I was taking the last two gifts. Even though I felt like he was spending too much, the credit card and cell phone made sense to me. They were reasonable things I would have when I was married to him, and I wasn't going to get angry over that. The cars were a totally different story, particularly when I suspected the death of my truck was a murder and not by natural causes like he and Rosalie claimed.

"Thank you Edward. I appreciate this. All of it. The night, the card, the phone…" I trailed off.

"The cars?" he supplied, grinning again.

"Appreciate, yes. Am happy about, no. I'm still working on that," I smirked at him. The fighting portion of the evening was over. I continued on my dinner and he continued pushing his around the plate and hiding bits to make it appear he had eaten anything at all. I asked Edward to hold onto the phone and credit card for the time being, and be obliged me. Our waiter had come back to the table to pick up and drop off our dessert, crème brulee and chocolate covered strawberries. Delicious.

Edward took this opportunity to scoot his chair directly next to mine. I smiled and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I hated being so far away from you," he said with a shrug. He picked up a strawberry in his right hand and reached his left arm around to my fully exposed back, where he very slowly and gently ran his index finger up and down my spine, stopping to trace patterns from time to time.. The sensation was intoxicating. I shivered under his touch as he slowly brought the strawberry to my lips. I took a bite and he caught the juice that dripped on my chin with his finger. He put the strawberry down, and my eyes popped wider with surprise as he offered me his finger with the strawberry juice.

He looked about as nervous as I felt. I opened my mouth and he slowly moved his finger closer until I closed my mouth around it and quickly licked off the strawberry juice. I backed away blushing. Edward sighed contentedly, and the fire was back in his eyes. He wasn't as guarded with that particular emotion these days.

This was uncharted territory for us and we were diving into waters neither of us was entirely comfortable with yet. Not to say I wasn't enjoying myself. Lately we had been working on expanding our boundaries in order to be ready for our honeymoon. I was enjoying every single minute. It was just new for me. The newness made everything very exciting, but also very nerve-wracking. I felt like I had butterflies in my stomach more often than not these days.

We finished desert with Edward feeding me strawberries and me taking bites of my crème brulee. My mind started to wander to what else the night could possibly hold. "So, what are we going to do now?" I asked, looking up at Edward's perfect face, stilly overly aware of the patterns he was tracing across my back with his fingers.

He leaned in to kiss me softly on the lips, then kissed along my cheek until he got to my ear where he whispered, "Now love, we dance."

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**I sound like a broken record, but I really can't express I appreciate everyone who has reviewed. You all make me feel good, whether I deserve it or not. So, thank you. :)**


	5. Watch The Sky

**Okay, here is the 5th chapter. I wanted to get it out to you before I got on the plane to fly home. I'm going to have a busy couple of days between flying home, packing up my stuff, driving back to school, and starting school up again, so I am not sure when if will be able to update soon. I am going to try to work on the story tonight at the airport if I can. I hope everyone enjoys this one, particularly those of you who have reviewed multiple times . I really appreciate you!**

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Dance? He was really pulling out all the stops tonight to make sure I did as many things I didn't typically like to do as possible. First there was the surprise weekend vacation, then there were the dress and heels and the exorbitantly priced gifts, and now we were going to be dancing. The interesting thing was, even though the day was filled with things I typically shied away from, this was the best weekend I could remember in a long time. Though, how any weekend could be bad with Edward around was beyond me.

"Edward," I started, and the whiney tone in my voice was not lost on me. "You know how I feel about dancing." Even as I said the words, I noticed how half hearted they really sounded. There was certainly a part of me that secretly wanted to dance with Edward. My nervousness about falling, particularly with the threat of my tall high heels, and habit are what produced my complaint. Truth be told, I knew there was no way Edward would ever let me fall. He knew I knew that too.

My angel chuckled lightly in my ear and said, "We both know I would never let you fall, love. You even enjoyed yourself a bit last time. Please dance with me."

My cheeks burned when he used the word, "please." If he wanted to dance, we would dance, and there was a good possibility I would enjoy myself immensely. I hadn't answered his request, so he began placing feather light kisses along my jaw line and my cheek. His power over me was overwhelming, though he would claim I was the one who had power over him.

"Of course I will dance with you," I finally replied, reaching my arms up and gently running my nails up and down his neck. He pulled back, smiling brilliantly at me before standing and offering me his hand while saying, "May I have this dance?"

I smiled and nodded before taking his hand. As I stood, he pulled me close and we walked a few steps away from the table to begin dancing. I turned to face him and he knelt down before me, softly taking my left ankle in one hand and lifting gently under my left knee. I put my hands on his shoulders to steady myself, and he lifted my leg enough to slip the death trap shoe off my foot. He cared enough about my nerves to take my shoes off while we danced. He leaned in to kiss the top of my foot before setting my leg back down on the ground. As Edward lowered my leg, he gently caressed my calf and ran his long fingers down my leg.

As he repeated the process on my right leg, it dawned on me how rarely Edward had ever touched my bare legs and that this was one of the single most sensual moments of my life. That turned the small shivers running down my back into a more pronounced shudder, causing me to increase the tightness of my grip on his shoulders.

Edward looked up at me, clearly having enjoyed my reaction to his attention to my legs. He seemed overjoyed by the fact he pleased me. What on earth did I do to deserve this man whose greatest joy was doing things to make me happy? A sudden wave of emotion flooded me as I looked down at him. The love and devotion I felt was almost too much to handle and I felt and uncharacteristic tear slip from my eye.

He stood, running his hands over my hips and then reached up to my face to catch my tear with his finger. He took his finger and slowly brought it to his mouth to taste it, making sure to look me in the eye the whole time. Oh wow. I had suspected early in our relationship that he had tasted my tears while we were sitting at his piano, but here was further proof. He was flaunting his desire for me like he never had before, and the fire in my cheeks raged. Where had all of this new behavior come from? We had burst through several new barriers tonight.

He kissed me as he pulled me up on top of his feet, to dance as we did at the prom. Even without heels, this was probably for the best considering my coordination issues. Edward pulled me close, wrapping his arm around my back, reminding me how open my dress was. I settled in, resting my head against his chest as he moved our clasped hands, my right and his left, over his silent heart.

We danced much more slowly than we did at the prom. There was quiet music that had been playing throughout our dinner, and it was the perfect tempo for our slow dance. Every few minutes, he would lean in and kiss my hair, my temple, or my cheek. This had to be what heaven felt like. He bent to hum the tune in my ear and rubbed his hand over back, moving it up and down. The feeling was intoxicating.

I could tell how much he was enjoying the backless dress. Edward would typically hold my waist when we were close or dancing, but tonight he had spent a great deal of the evening running his fingers over my spine and tracing patterns across my upper and lower back. He couldn't take his hands off of me, and I loved it. It was new and intimate in a way I had never felt before. I reveled in the feeling.

He traced his cold fingers down my back again, and then, in a bolder move, traced them up my right side, flirting with the edge of the fabric. I couldn't help my reaction. I giggled and cringed into him, but away from his hand. It tickled when he touched me like that. He pulled his hand away quickly, worried he had stepped too far out of line, or had acted in an ungentlemanly way, but hearing my giggle and seeing the smile on my face, realized what had happened and smirked devilishly, clearly looking for some way to do it again.

"A bit ticklish, are we?" he asked with the smirk, holding me a bit tighter and running his fingers up my side again.

"Yes!" I squealed and made futile attempts to escape his unbreakable hold. I continued to laugh and squirm as he held me closer and continued to tickle my side. He stopped after a minute and I smacked him lightly on the chest with my left hand.

"That was mean," I said, putting on my best attempt at a playful pout. It seemed to work.

"Oh, I'm sorry, love. Can I make it up to you?" he said, with his crooked grin stuck firmly in place.

I shook my head and stuck my bottom lip out. It was rare that I acted this childish, or even this girly for that matter, but I was trying my hardest to flirt with him. He seemed to love it.

"Please Bella?" he questioned, turning my playful pout back on me. Oh that wasn't fair at all. He knew I wouldn't be able to resist him pouting.

"Fine. Give it your best shot Mr. Cullen," I replied, knowing he would be amused I called him "Mr. Cullen."

"Thank you love," he simpered. And then, without warning, he picked me up and spun me around a couple of times, while kissing my neck between each word of his "apology."

"Please. Forgive. My. Rude. Behavior," he said between the kissed. I was laughing out loud at his sudden action, and he was just as jubilant as he put me back down on my feet. We were both laughing as he pulled me in for a hug and said, "So, am I forgiven?"

Stealing one of his lines, I replied, "There is nothing to forgive." He smiled triumphantly, as if he was forgiven for an actual argument, rather than the two of us just joking around while dancing, and bent in to kiss me firmly.

"My relief is overwhelming," he said as he pulled me back up onto his feet to continue our dancing. The mood had been lightened by the tickling incident, and some of the intense sexual tension had been lifted, which was probably for the best anyway. We slipped into comfortable conversation as we continued to dance.

There was a question still plaguing me. Something I was curious about from before that I knew he would have considered after I asked it this morning. "Edward," I started, "Have you considered what I asked you this morning about something we can do together that you have never done before?"

He looked back at me, deep in thought. "Actually, I have," he started. "I am not quite sure what you will think of my answer, but the human experience I want is to be married, hold on, there is more to it than that," he said, effectively stopping me from trying to cut him off and tell him he already tried that answer.

"I would like to have the experience of doing and seeing everything for the first time together as a married man alongside you. I want to see the wonder in your eyes as you gaze upon the Egyptian pyramids for the first time, I want to go to the Taj Mahal with my beautiful wife for the first time to truly experience the romance of the place, and I want to go on a trip around the world, only the two of us, seeing everything for the first time again. I have not been everywhere in the world yet Bella, and we can discover those places together, if you would like. We can do whatever we like. We can climb mountains, run through the rainforest to see ancient ruins, or swim to the bottom of the ocean. Just us," he finished.

"Edward, you made this about me again. This is supposed to be about you," I replied softly. I wanted to be mad, really I did, but I just couldn't find the appropriate amount of anger. He was being honest. I could see it in his eyes. And on top of that, what he wanted sounded perfect to me.

"You have to understand that everything I do is in an attempt to make you happy Bella. You are my everything, my life. I do not even want to remember a time in my life where you were not a part of it. Of course my request is as much about you as it is about me," he said, his eyes burning with the passion and truth in his words.

"I love you," I answered, simply. He was perfect. There was no way around it. He was the epitome of perfection. I pulled down on his neck, and he responded to my pressure, brining his face and mouth down to a kissable level. I kissed him with intensity. I wanted him to feel all of my emotions in the kiss. We continued to kiss for several minutes, his hands running down my back and up my sides, my hands moving between his chest and his hair. We weren't just kissing at this point, we were kind of making out… On the deck of the yacht… Not to mention we were out in the open in a place where the yacht staff could probably watch everything we were doing.

"Maybe we should move down to the room so we can have a little more privacy," Edward said, as I tried to slow down my breathing, completely confirming my suspicion we were in a place where we could be watched.

"Can the waiter see us?" I asked, blushing furiously and burying my head in his chest.

"Among other people, yes. Don't worry though love, this is one of the more PG shows they have seen on this deck. It would seem the people who typically rent this yacht are a bit more uninhibited," he answered, when suddenly his look turned sour and his body stiffened.

"What's wrong?' I asked, made nervous by the sudden change in his posture.

"I do not like or appreciate the way they are thinking about you," he said through clenched teeth. Edward looked irate as he removed his tuxedo jacket and placed it over my shoulders. His look turned smug as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me again, angling us slightly to give the hidden individuals a good show. When he was finished marking his territory, he released me and picked up my shoes before picking me up in his arms to head down to the bedroom.

"Very mature Edward," I said laughing as we headed down the hallway and arrived at the door of our room.

"If you were in my position, you would have done the same, my love. As much as I hated to cover you up with my jacket, it had to be done. They were very jealous as I was carrying you down here. I am an extremely lucky man Isabella," he said with a smile, opening the door to the room. He carried me into the room and set me on my feet and placed my shoes on the ground next to the door. He came back over to me and took his jacket off of my shoulders and put it on the back of the chair sitting next to us.

"There, much better," he said. I blushed instantly, and tried to find some of the confidence I had been working on earlier in the evening. I spun around in a circle and then walked away from him, trying to move my hips in a provocative way, and looking over my shoulder suggestively at him. These actions may have worked for a more coordinated person, but seeing as how I am still me, I managed to trip over a rug and nearly hit the ground before he had me safely in his arms, laughing hysterically.

I was humiliated. I couldn't even pretend to be sexy in a coordinated manner. My face flushed red and I covered my eyes with my hands.

"Love, don't be embarrassed. Look at me," he said, prying my hands off of my eyes. "You are the most beautiful, tempting, seductive woman in the world," he said kissing me softly, "but I do think it is time for you to get changed for bed." He picked me up in his arms and took me to the bathroom where my bag was left earlier and set me down in front of it. "Alice packed me pajamas to wear as well," he said with curious smile, but he didn't elaborate. What was that about?

"Alright, I said, I'm going to shower and change, and I'll be out shortly," I said, reaching up on my toes to give him a quick kiss before he left the room.

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**Alright, it's a bit shorter than I intended, but if I went much further, the chapter would stretch much further than I have time to write at this point. I hope you all enjoyed it. :)  
**


	6. Paperthin Hymn

**I still do not own Twilight. **

**Thanks again to everyone who has continued to read and especially to the people who have reviewed, and the ones who continue to to keep reviewing. I never realized how much reviews meant to the writer until I started writing this story. So, thanks everyone! I really appreciate you. **

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Edward shut the door as he left the room, and I turned to the bag Alice had packed for me. Should I reach in and see what her idea of appropriate nighttime attire is, or should I put it off and just hop into the shower? I decided to bite the bullet and dove into the overnight bag, pulling out the smaller bag bearing a note which read, "Pajamas," pinned to the top. I held my breath as I opened the bag containing my night clothes.

Of all the surprises I had received this evening, this was by far my favorite. A familiar scent had escaped the bag as I pulled the pajamas out and it was revealed to me that these pajamas were actually some of Edward's clothes. Alice had packed me one of Edward's unbelievably soft navy blue v-neck t-shirts and clean pair of white boxer shorts.

Ever since I had worn Edward's leather jacket back from our trip to Port Angeles when we had first met, I secretly desired to have some of his clothing to wear around the house and to bed. The problem was, Edward was always around at night, so I couldn't steal one of his t-shirts to sleep in because he would know. Though, between a t-shirt to keep and Edward staying over, I would much rather have Edward. The truth was, I had always been too embarrassed to ask him for a t-shirt to wear. Alice fixed that for me, and I took that moment to say a silent 'thank you' to her. I looked at the bottom of the bag to make sure I had gotten everything, and saw a note from Alice which read, "You're welcome," and laughed out loud.

I continued to chuckle as I walked over to start the shower. I went back to the bag to see what Alice had packed for shower-related activity, and found a razor, shampoo and conditioner, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and fancy-looking face wash in the toiletry bag. Apparently, she had 'seen' there would be acceptable body wash in the shower. I carried the bag over with me and set it on a stool right outside of the glass encased shower.

I let the hot water soak into my back for a minute, but then rushed though the rest of my shower routine in my effort to get back to Edward more quickly. I knew it had to be boring for him to always be waiting on me to get through everything. He did not mind it, or at least he pretended he didn't mind to make me feel good. He had once told me he could be patient if he made a great effort. As I started to contemplate why he bothered at all, I shook the thoughts from my head before they could fully develop. He loved me, and that is why he was patient. I was worth it, even if it was hard for me to understand why he wanted me as much as I wanted him.

I stepped out of the shower carefully and dried myself off using one of the massive, soft towels right outside of the glass door. I wrapped the towel around myself and then went over to the sink area to blow dry my hair, brush my teeth and put some lotion Alice had provided me with on my arms and legs. I took care of the rest of my human needs and then went over to put on Edward's clothes.

I pulled the t-shirt over my head and pulled the shorts up my legs and rolled them at the waistband twice to make them fit the right way. The shirt was too big and long, but the material was a bit clingy in certain spots. I smoothed myself off and then paused to take a deep breath, inhaling Edward's mouthwatering scent. I smiled into the mirror and then turned toward the door, feeling good about my evening.

Completely relaxed, I opened the door to the bathroom to reveal a shirtless Edward. To say I was unprepared for this sight would be a massive understatement. I was floored, speechless, though unfortunately not soundless. I gasped and my mouth remained hanging open even after the noise had escaped my lips. Edward was standing across the room wearing only a pair of white pajama pants, perfectly matching the white boxers I was wearing, naturally. The pants were tied with a drawstring, but hung low on his hips, revealing his muscled lower stomach.

Realizing my mouth was still hanging open, I shut it quickly. I opened it to speak, but couldn't find the right words and shut it again and looked up to his face. If I was surprised by his lack of shirt, then I was shocked by the look on his face. Edward had conflicting emotions running in tandem on his face. He looked, almost embarrassed. It couldn't be. Embarrassment was not an emotion that registered with Edward, and it certainly did not belong on his face. The other emotion was slowly beating back the look of embarrassment. This was an emotion I had seen cross his face more and more recently and was easily identifiable. Desire.

The look of desire in his eyes caused me to blush deeply, as was always the case when I saw that particular look in his eyes. There was a problem here, he was half naked and I was the one who was blushing. I straightened up and looked him in the eye, smiling. He smiled back at me and began to cross the room.

"I believe you are wearing my clothing Isabella," he said quietly, but with mischief dancing in his eyes. "I must confess, I think they look much better on you. I should have let Alice raid my closet for you much sooner," he commented as he stopped directly in front of me. "There is just something so…" he struggled for the words, which was beyond unusual for Edward. "You look so… alluring. Positively tempting," he finished.

So, apparently wearing his clothing was a turn on for Edward. I filed that away in my head for future reference. I'm sure it would come in handy at some point in the future and I could use it to my advantage.

"Speaking of tempting," I replied back, staring openly at his bare chest, looking down and his stomach and then moving my eyes back up his chest all the way up to his eyes. "Should I assume Alice purposefully forgot to pack you a shirt, or did you come up with this all on your own?" I asked.

He threw his head back a bit and laughed out loud. "Alice is diabolical," he replied looking back down at me, and then continued, "But, her heart is in the right place. She is putting a lot of effort into assisting us in removing boundaries prior to the wedding night. Apparently, she does not feel I am moving quickly enough, so she gave me a nudge forward by conveniently forgetting to pack a shirt to sleep in, not that I mind. Do you mind Bella?" he asked, leaning in and kissing my cheek.

Yeah right. Was this a trick question?

"I suppose I will have to endure it, if I must," I said nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders. He didn't buy it for one second, but decided to tease me regardless.

"Well, I'm sure I could find a shirt in my bag. Give me one second," he said pulling away from me and starting toward his bag.

I couldn't help my reaction. "NO!" I yelled with a bit too much enthusiasm for the situation, and then promptly blushed in embarrassment at my outburst. My embarrassment didn't stop me from reaching out to grab his arm and hold onto it tightly, as if I could stop him if he really wanted to get to the other side of the room to put on a shirt.

He smiled and looked down at me, turning and pulling me flush with his chest and kissing me gently on the lips, "That was closer to the reaction I was hoping for," he said with a smile. "We should get you in bed," he continued, before kissing me again.

I nodded and walked to my side of the bed and crawled in, while he walked over to the closet. I was curious what he was doing, but it became more obvious when he emerged with extra blankets. I guessed that was the balance of things. I finally got a shirtless Edward to sleep with, but I had to be wrapped up with extra blankets to compensate for his cold skin. I couldn't wait for the moment when none of this would be necessary. Edward walked back to the bed and set them at my feet.

"We can wrap you up when it becomes necessary for the additional blanket. Not quite yet though," he said, and I shivered at the meaning behind his words. "Unless you are cold and need it now," he revised, having seen my shiver. He missed nothing.

"No, I'm not cold," I answered, and then reached out to him like a small child under the covers looking for a hug from a parent before bedtime. He stepped closer on my side of the bed and hugged me. I pulled down on his shoulders, hoping he would take the hint and would climb in bed on top of me, and I was not disappointed.

Edward smiled as he climbed into bed over me and positioned himself hovering over me, pressing against me, but without resting any of his weight on me. We kissed for a few minutes, just nice, sweet kisses. He would kiss me, then whisper something sweet into my ear, and then place another feather-light kiss somewhere else on my face or neck. I was under the comforter in the bed, and that combined with the warmth I felt whenever I kissed Edward kept me from getting too cold, even with him being shirtless.

Shirtless Edward. This was something I had rarely gotten to see, and was something that any woman would kill to have. Particularly to have on top of them kissing and whispering and being the perfect fiancé. While he kissed me softly and whispered in my ears, I ran my hands up and down his sides and his back, now taking my opportunity to run my hands up and down his spine. He seemed to enjoy it, shivering from time to time when I would touch a particularly sensitive spot, and I tried to remember all of the places on his back and sides that he liked to be touched.

We had been kissing for several minutes before I attempted to take it to the next level. I figured I would only get one opportunity, so I had to make it worth it. I rubbed my hands lightly down Edward's sides, then moved my hands to his front and moved my hands slowly up his abs and over his chest muscles, really working to feel each muscle as I moved my fingers upward.

It was then I noticed Edward had stopped kissing me and had buried his eyes into my shoulder. He was breathing heavily and shuddering as I moved my hands north. I had had expected him to stop me very quickly, but he let me continue working my fingers up, slowly touching each abdominal muscle, tracing up over his ribs, over his chest and up to his strong shoulders. He liked this a lot. More than a lot. That much was clear to me. His heavy breathing against my shoulder and his eyes shut tight almost looked like pain, but I knew enough to know he couldn't be feeling pain at my touch. He was feeling pleasure. I tried to push away the embarrassment of my revelation. I shouldn't be embarrassed I made him feel this way. I should feel pride.

Emboldened by his reaction, I started to work my hands down his chest and over his ribs again, feeling him shudder and sigh against my neck. When I reached his abs, he suddenly stiffened and grabbed my wrists gently, but firmly and stopped my progress. He moved my wrists to one hand and then pushed himself off of me, sitting next to me on the bed with his head down, looking at the sheets.

"I'm sorry Edward. What did I do wrong?" I asked. I was nervous now.

"Nothing love," he replied, releasing my wrists and then running a hand through his hair. "You did nothing wrong. It's me. It just felt so amazing. I needed to stop," he said apologetically, though still not looking me in the eye.

I felt terrible. I had tried to push him too far, too fast. I was just so excited to have him in bed with me, with no shirt. We had removed a barrier, but we had to build upon it a bit more slowly. He finally looked up to meet my eyes.

"Bella," he started, clearly frustrated. "This is not your fault. Please understand me when I say that to you," he said firmly, clearly having read the emotions playing across my face. "I just need to calm down for a second. To get my head straight again," he finished.

I looked into his eyes and sighed a bit of relief. He continued, "I do think it is time for you to go to sleep though Bella. It is very late and we have had a big day."

I hated to admit it, but he was right. It was late and I was tired. I smiled and nodded at him a bit, and he seemed a bit relieved. I guess we would have to build upon expanding boundaries gradually. He reached down to the end of the bed to grab the extra blanket he had placed there earlier, and then wrapped it around me. He laid down and I shifted to my side and he pulled me close. I rested my cheek against his chest and draped my over around his side and hugged him close to me.

Edward turned off the lamp in the room before softly kissing my hair and whispering in my ear, "Sleep well my love," as I drifted off into the night.

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**So, I am trying to decide whether to continue this story or not. This kind of feels like a natural ending place in some ways. I don't know. You tell me. I can make some stuff up for them to do the next day. The point of this story was to kind of bridge between Eclipse and Breaking Dawn and to give us some of the moments we missed over the summer, like Edward giving her the cars and the credit card and the first time they slept in the same bed where he wasn't wearing a shirt. So, if you would like me to continue, let me know. **


	7. MFEO Part 2: You Can Breathe

**I apologize for the delay. Grad school is rather time consuming, as it turns out (massive understatement). I've also had some friends in. I hope you're all enjoying the story and cannot thank you enough for the kind reviews you have left! I decided to continue on a bit and am going to finish up the weekend trip before moving to a different portion of the summer we didn't get to see between Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. **

**This chapter is a bit more... intense than the previous chapters. Still in character though (I hope). I actually wrote most of it on notebook paper during one of my classes where people were giving boring presentations. I was kind of nervous someone was going to see what I was writing. **

**As always, I own nothing.  
**

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When I woke up, it was pitch black in the room. It took me a moment to remember where I was, but not to remember who I was with. I reached for Edward and my fingers met cold skin, bare skin, shirtless stomach. I had forgotten Edward hadn't worn a shirt to bed last night. I shivered and blushed furiously, but I didn't dare pull my hand away from his perfect abs.

He had sucked in a breath of air when my hand found his stomach, but he had also noticed my shiver. "Are you too cold?" he questioned, and I could feel his abs tighten and tense up further under my fingers and I shivered and blushed further.

"No," I replied, and he brushed his cool hand over my scorching cheek. He chuckled and I knew he could feel just how hard I was blushing.

"Are you embarrassed Isabella?" he asked, and when I didn't answer immediately, he laughed out loud. Well, I knew how to stop that in a hurry. Dang him and his perfect confidence. I raked my fingers downward over his stone abs, then slowly traced around his navel before moving down to the top of his low-hanging pajama pants. I moved my hand back north as I shifted on the bed and kissed his chest over his still heart. I was shocked by his response.

Edward's breath hitched and his laughter stopped as I moved my hand down, and as I kissed his chest, he pulled me tight with his left arm and pulled me flat on top of his body with his right arm. My breathing was near hyperventilation level and his breathing was nearly as bad as mine.

"I love the way you look in my clothes," he said, his voice slightly deeper than usual, with his lips to my ear. A highly embarrassing sound escaped my throat. My noise triggered a deep rumbling in his chest, and feeling suddenly emboldened, I pushed myself up a bit and began placing kisses over ever part of his shoulders, neck, and chest my lips could reach. As I continued with my kisses, Edward threw his head back and shut his eyes tightly.

I was a woman unleashed. I feel like the knowledge that we weren't actually going to cross the final barrier helped me to have a bit more confidence in the barriers we were crossing. I felt Edward look up at me and I resumed my oral assault on his neck, kissing back and forth across his throat. He wasn't stopping me, in fact, he was encouraging my uninhibited behavior by running his hands over my back and down over my hips, and finally down over my bare legs before running them back up again. I had goose bumps everywhere. This was certainly the most aggressive kissing we had ever engaged in before, and I loved it.

Even more unusual than the amazing kissing was the feeling of Edward's hands on me. He was still a gentleman, keeping his hands in appropriate areas of course, but it was the level of passion and fervor with which he touched me. He had rarely touched my legs before and the feel of his fingers running over the sensitive area behind my knees and down over my calves had me shaking. I never even knew how much I enjoyed being touched there before.

I was sitting on his stomach, continuing with my kisses, when suddenly I was on my back and Edward was hovering over me. He had a look on his face that would melt the polar ice caps. I know the look on my face rivaled his, and it was an incredible high to know I was affecting him the same way he was affecting me.

I saw something change in his eyes, and his look softened. He was reeling himself back in knowing we could not continue on like this, but unlike his typical behavior, where this would have been the end of our kissing, he bent in and kissed me softly on the lips while running his hands though my hair. He continued to kiss me gently, caressing my face, neck, and shoulders. We kissed for awhile longer, and between kisses, Edward would look into my eyes and smile at me adoringly. When we had slowed to the point where it was just pecking kisses back and forth, we stopped and Edward rolled onto his back slowly, pulling me on top of him.

"You are, without doubt, the most beautiful creature in existence," he said. "I love you so much," he whispered with such conviction that tears welled up in my eyes. He pulled a blanket around me, which was good because now that I was coming back down to reality, the fact that Edward was quite cold began to make itself apparent. I did hate being separated from his bare skin, but this was for the best.

I wriggled my way up to eye level with him and said, "I love you too, more than you even understand." I kissed him gently one last time.

"It is Sunday at about 10am right now. I believe Charlie will be back tonight at about 8pm. We have a couple of hours to spend in Seattle, if you would like. But, if you would prefer it, we can head home early. I know Alice has likely been bouncing off the walls with excitement since the moment we left," he said.

"I think I would like to go home," I said. He had given me too much already this weekend, and a couple more hours spent in Seattle would surely amount to several more gifts. "I don't see how this weekend could get any more perfect than it is right now, so I'm going to get up and take a shower and get ready to head back to Forks," I finished.

He smiled and kissed me, before sitting us up and helping me off the bed. "Alice packed an extra bag with clothes for you for today with my things," he said, moving over to his bag. He reached in and grabbed a mid-sized bag out of his own bag, and I couldn't help but notice how the muscles in his back and arms looked as he reached to grab the bag. I had to make sure my mouth was shut when he turned to take the bag into the bathroom for me. He set it on the counter and then collected the rest of the bags in the bathroom from my previous outfits.

"I will pack these and my clothes in the car while you get ready. Have a good shower," he said, exiting the bathroom.

"Thank you," I replied as he shut the door.

I trusted Alice a bit more as I crossed the room to the final clothing surprise of the weekend trip. The previous surprises had all ended up working to my advantage, so it wouldn't be fair to be nervous now. I opened the bag to reveal some designer-looking jeans, an extremely soft long-sleeved black sweater that looked very small, and some flat black shoes. Everything looked expensive, and though I would be slightly out of my comfort zone, nothing was too outrageous. I reached further in the bag looking for the underwear, and of course, this is where Alice had made her presence known in the choice. There was a matching set of black lacy underwear. The bottoms were much smaller than I was used to and much lacier, and the same was true of the bra. I steeled myself, and remembered how much confidence the underwear I had worn last night had given me, and then set the new pair on top of the pile of clothes waiting to be worn.

I hopped in the shower again, and after taking the quickest shower known to man, I got out, dried off, dried my hair and then went through my routine of getting ready. I put on the underwear and was once again shocked by how amazing Alice was. It fit perfectly, of course, and I really did feel good when I looked in the mirror. I put the rest of the clothes on, and was silently thankful for Alice for the millionth time this weekend. She really had outdone herself this weekend. The outfit looked perfect. It was a bit more adult than what I was used to, but it looked amazing. I felt good in it.

I ran my fingers through my hair a few times with some of the product Alice had put in the bag for last night, but didn't bother with the makeup at all, except for a swipe of the mascara, and packed everything else quickly into the bag. I slung the bag over my shoulder and then walked to the door and out to Edward, who was sitting across the room waiting for me. He looked as handsome as I had come to assume, wearing dark jeans and a black sweater, matching mine perfectly. We both looked at each other and began to laugh.

"It would appear that Alice just cannot help herself, can she?" he chuckled. "You do look beautiful, Bella," he continued. I laughed a bit more.

"I'm not surprised at all, and you look great too," I replied as he stood and crossed the room to give me a quick kiss and to take my bag for me. "We look like a Gap ad, or something," I continued to laugh, though I knew Alice would never set foot into the Gap.

He laughed a bit too, and replied, "I agree. Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if Alice started her own clothing line. I know she would if it were possible for her to do so without gaining the kind of attention we just assume avoid," he finished smiling, but shaking his head. We turned to walk to the door and out to the car. Apparently Edward had settled accounts with the yacht staff while I was in the shower.

We got in the car and Edward put on a different cd for our trip home. It was cheery music and I felt happy to have it as the soundtrack for our drive back to Forks. The trip back was as good as the trip out to Seattle. I was a bit sorry to leave the city because of the wonderful time I had there, but was quite anxious to get back to Forks to properly thank Alice for all she had done to assist me in having one of the best weekends I could remember. I flush of heat crossed my face when I remembered just how much of my weekend she might had seen already, but I quickly pushed that from my head to keep Edward from asking me what was wrong.

We stopped about halfway back to Forks to pick up some lunch for me, having foregone breakfast this morning. I had forgotten completely, and was quite hungry as I dove into the salad and soup in front of me at the small restaurant. When I had finished, we continued our journey back to his house, playing guessing games on license plates and other silly road trip games. We were both all smiles as we finally pulled into his long driveway that afternoon, and then pulled up to the house.

"Careful," he chuckled, "Jasper is preventing Alice from pouncing right now, but he is not going to be able to restrain her for long." Edward looked amused and I agreed it was quite funny to picture Jasper holding Alice back from sprinting outdoors to greet us.

"I guess it's time to give her what she wants," I said reaching for my door handle. Edward was out of the vehicle before I could even touch the metal, opening the door for me. I laughed, and looked up at him, reaching my arms out like a small child. He smiled and picked me up, spinning me around and giving me a quick kiss. He set me back down and grabbed our bags as we walked to the door to greet Alice.

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**So, I'm really hoping to get the next chapter up more quickly than this one. There's a couple of people I really wanted to thank because they keep reviewing, and I truly appreciate them, so stkirsch, Jaspercanbiteme, Viper003, starhealr, la saboteuse, Maddy90, and of course Car, I really appreciate you continuing to review. You're nicer to me than I deserve.**


	8. For Me This Is Heaven

**Thought I'd get this one up quickly. I wrote it between classes, so I hope everything is in order. Again, I don't own Twilight. **

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As we approached the door, it became evident the wait was too much for Alice to handle. The door flew open and there she was out the door and in front of us in a flash. She had a brilliant smile on her face, as she gushed, "You looked beautiful Bella! The dress was gorgeous on you and Edward loved it and you did a beautiful job on your makeup and hair!"

I looked up and saw Jasper leaning against the open doorway. He smiled and shrugged at us as if to say, 'I can't control her any better than you can.' I couldn't help but laugh, "Thank you Alice. I couldn't have done it without you, but you really shouldn't have spent –"

Alice cut me off mid-sentence, "Yeah, yeah, I know. I shouldn't have spent so much, because you don't think you should have nice things. We really have to work on this aversion to having what you deserve Bella."

"I don't think I deser-," nope, still couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Alice continued, "Yes you do. Plus, you accepted Edward's cars better than we all anticipated. Time to get the right clothes to wear with that-"

This time it was Edward's turn to cut Alice off. "I have not had the opportunity to show Bella her new vehicles yet Alice and it is my understanding she only would like to see the 'before' car at this point," Edward said.

In truth, I had forgotten about the cars, the phone and the credit card. Apparently, this became clear by the expression on my face. The open book of emotions strikes again.

"Bella," Edward began, "you took this so well at dinner. Please do not fight me on this now that we are home." He looked a bit exasperated, or frustrated by my reluctance to go see the car.

Alice stood there with her hands on her hips, assessing the situation. I could tell she was itching to add to the conversation, but Edward had given her a look of warning that kept her mouth shut tightly. I could tell I looked about as moody as Edward at this point.

"Edward," I started to whine. But he cut me off before I had a chance to really launch into my argument.

"Bella, you promised, and we already had this conversation last night. Are you really going to fight me on this right now?" he asked. "Please be fair Bella. You did promise," he reminded me again.

Ugh. He was right. I hated that he was right, but it did not stop it from being true. Edward and Alice watched the emotions flicker over my face as I decided to see my new 'before' car, and they were both smiling before I had the chance to tell them my decision. They already knew the second I had made my decision. Alice had seen it and Edward had heard it in her head.

"You two are ridiculous," I said, trying to stay angry, but finding it impossible.

"But you love us anyway," Alice said in a victorious voice. Her smile was so bright it was practically blinding. A reluctant grin spread across my lips.

"Come on!" Alice sang, grabbing my arm and dragging me toward the garage. Edward chuckled and followed behind the two of us, laughing a bit harder when I craned my neck around nervously, searching for him.

"I am right behind you," he said in a soothing voice, though he still had a Cheshire cat grin across his face. He was loving every second of my stress about the cars. He did take a step closer and up to my side, wrapping an arm around me and rubbing little circles in my tense back muscles.

We entered the garage and I could see the two new vehicles in the back corner. Both of them were covered by those big sheets you put over cars to keep them clean and away from the elements. Both vehicles also had big red bows on top of them. I had a feeling Alice had more to do with the bows than Edward.

The three of us stopped in front of the two cars, and I gulped, too nervous to go forward to uncover the mystery vehicle. Apparently, Jasper had alerted the rest of the house my new car was about to be unveiled, because suddenly the rest of the Cullens came into the garage. Great. An audience was exactly what I needed. I shot a death glare at Edward, but he was in too good a mood to be effected by it at all. He laughed it off and shrugged, just as Jasper had earlier. Naturally, Emmett was the first to comment.

"Hey Bella!" he boomed. "Edward got the perfect car for you," he continued.

I remember my father saying the same words before telling me about the truck. He had assumed I would not like the truck when he said those words, so that did not increase my optimism about what was under the sheet. Emmett was chuckling at my look of extreme nervousness, and it appeared Edward was trying not to laugh out loud.

Why did they all have to come out here to see this? Well, at least there was no wrapping paper for me to cut my finger on this time around. Though, I shouldn't have even thought that. Knowing my luck, I trip and fall and cut my knee open or something. I shot a glance back at the Cullens frantically, and turned to look at the car again.

Sensing my hesitation, Edward leaned in and said, "Would you like me to take the cover off of the car Bella?"

It was moments like these were I was positive he could read my mind.

"Yes please!" I replied quickly, nodding furiously. Everyone behind me chuckled. I looked over at Alice who was still holding onto my hand and it looked like she was about to burst with excitement. I felt a rush of calm, and I turned to see Jasper smiling widely at me. I smiled back, genuinely grateful for his help. Alice squeezed my hand and I turned to see Edward delicately pulling the cover off of the vehicle.

The black vehicle looked nearly identical to Carlisle's car, and this made me feel a bit better. I looked over at Carlisle's vehicle, and then back over to this one, trying to figure out the differences in the two cars. I mean, at least it wasn't a Ferrari or a Porsche. My car was black with tinted windows. It was a nice looking car, but the thought of driving it made me nervous beyond my wildest dreams.

"What is it?" I asked, taking a timid step forward. Edward breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently it had taken me a few seconds of silence longer than he had anticipated assessing the car.

"It's a Mercedes Guardian," he replied back, his lips twitching up just a touch. I heard Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett laughing quietly behind me, attempting to cover their giggles up with coughs. As if coughing was a natural reaction for them. I turned to look at them slightly, before turning back to Edward, who was looking over my head to give them a warning glance.

A Mercedes Guardian. Okay. Well, I suppose that is why it has a tag on the front bumper that says 'S-Guard.'

"So, is that the same thing Carlisle has?" I asked, turning to look at Carlisle, and then over to his car. It had the same symbol on the front, and I knew before that Carlisle drove a Mercedes. Renewed giggles erupted from the peanut gallery. Now I was getting mad.

"Okay guys, you know I don't know anything about cars," I started, my face burning. Their laughter stopped, but I could tell they were all biting back smiles. I could see it in their eyes.

"Do not worry Bella, they are just jealous. Your car is similar to Carlisle's, but it has a few extra safety features Carlisle does not need. You will not need those features when you change over, and that is why we will return this car and you will have your 'after' car. Would you like to see your 'after' car now?" he asked hopefully.

"No, I don't," I replied quickly. This was a lot to handle on its own. If this was similar to the car Carlisle drove, I was living outside of my means. It was much nicer than a Volvo, that much I knew for sure.

"It is a very good car Bella," Carlisle said, speaking for the first time since entering the garage. "I know you will enjoy driving it," he finished, giving me an encouraging smile. He wanted me to be happy about the car choice just like Edward wanted me to be happy. It just felt wrong to be driving the same vehicle as the most successful doctor in the area. What did I ever do to deserve this type of car? Carlisle saved lives. My biggest accomplishment so far was graduating from high school.

"Well, do you like it?" Alice said, finally breaking her silence. I knew it had to be hard for her to be that patient.

I turned to look at the sleek car again, and I said, "It's a beautiful car, just kind of intimidating. I think I'll be too nervous to drive it at all."

Alice rolled her eyes dramatically. "You'll learn to love it Bella. Trust me," she said before adding, "Plus, Edward can teach you to drive it!"

I smiled at that thought, and then laughed. "I'm sure that would go really well," I said sarcastically, and the rest of the garage erupted in laughter.

Edward pretended to look offended and said, "What exactly are you implying Isabella Swan?"

Everyone laughed harder and Alice released my arm as I crossed over to Edward to give him a hug next to the overly intimidating Mercedes. Edward reached into his pocket and pulled out a strange looking door unlocker.

"What is that? It is to unlock the door?" I asked.

"Yes, it does serve that purpose, but it is also the key for this car," he said, seeing the confused expression on my face. "This car has a different type of ignition, so you do not need a traditional key. Rosalie or I can explain everything to you if you wish," he said with a full smile.

"I don't need to know the mechanics of it, but I guess there are a few things you'll need to teach me about this car," I said with a sigh. Who ever heard of a keyless car anyway?

He smiled and bent down to give me a quick kiss. "Would you like me to show you everything now, or would you like to come into the house for awhile before it is time to go home to Charlie?" he asked.

Oh no, Charlie. What am I going to say to Charlie about this car?! Edward felt me tense up and could see the panic crossing my face.

"What is it Bella?" he asked, clearly nervous about my sudden panic.

"Charlie," I groaned, shutting my eyes. When I had opened them, I noticed the rest of the family had cleared out, sensing this was a private moment. Edward cocked his head questioningly, prompting me to continue.

"I'm nervous about what Charlie is going to say about this car," I said, shooting a nervous glance at the car. "It's just, very nice and expensive and I feel bad about taking it home and parking it next to the cruiser. I don't want to make Charlie mad," I finished quietly.

"Love," he said quietly, gently kissing the top of my head, "Charlie will not be angry about the car. He wants you to have nice things, the same way I want you to have nice things. He knows your truck does not work anymore, and I already let him know about our deal and that I would be purchasing your next car," he said.

This came as a shock, though I should have known he would have told Charlie about our deal. I wasn't sure how I was planning on getting around without the car. I knew about the deal, but I assumed I had several more years with the truck. When it had died, I just assumed I would be riding around with Edward until we were married. I had never considered the truck breaking down before the wedding.

"You are going to be my wife," Edward continued when I didn't say anything about him telling Charlie about the deal. "There is no reason why I should not buy you a new car in the months prior to our wedding if I have the means to do so. Charlie knows that, and he will not be angry," he said in a soothing tone.

It did make sense when I really sat there and thought about it. I nodded and looked back at the car one more time before turning to him and pulling him into a tight hug. I loved hugging Edward. I never felt more safe and secure than when I was wrapped up in his arms.

"Plus," Edward said with a bit of humor in his voice, "the hardest part is over. You have already told him the glorious news that you consented to marry me. Compared to that, this should be easy," he said. When I looked up at him, he had his crooked smile plastered across his face.

I laughed and he bent in to kiss me one more time before leaning back and asking again if I would rather go upstairs or go back to the house.

"I think I would like to stay here for awhile," I said, part of me not wanting the weekend to end, and the other part of me still slightly nervous about Charlie's reaction to the car.

Edward nodded and took my hand as we walked to the door out of the garage and toward the house.

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**Hope everyone enjoyed this. I didn't get as many reviews on the last chapter, and I think it may have been kind of weak. This one is more in line with what may have actually happened in the story, so I hope you all enjoy it. I think I am going to write until the end of the weekend, and then I think I might write about a dress fitting or a stress relief get away somewhere else. Maybe even something about the arguments between Bella and Charlie about the 'missing boy' posters. Anyway, I wrote this between classes and I am hoping to get something else up by the end of this week.  
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**Okay, hope you're all having a good week. Thanks for reading and special thanks to the people who have reviewed. I really appreciate it. **


	9. Into the Dark

**They aren't mine!**

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We entered the house to a delicious smell wafting from the kitchen. Edward placed a hand on my back and led me that direction until we entered where we saw Esme at the counter arranging the dinner she had prepared for decoratively on a plate. She looked up and smiled warmly at me, carrying my plate over to the kitchen table.

"I just wanted to make sure you had a good dinner," she said, still smiling. I couldn't help but smile back just as warmly.

"Thank you Esme," I replied, feeling a surge of affection for my soon-to-be mother in law. She was so good to me. She was so good to everyone.

Edward and I walked toward the table and he bent to kiss Esme on the cheek, also thanking her for her immense kindness to me. Edward pulled the chair out for me and waited for me to sit before he sat himself. Esme touched both of our shoulders exiting out the back door.

"The rest of the family has decided to go hunt for the evening to give us some privacy," Edward commented, as I began my dinner. He seemed so content watching me eat, stroking my arm, my back and shoulders from time to time. "They'll be back in a couple of hours," he finished.

I just nodded, remembering the last time I was alone with Edward at the Cullen house for a couple of hours. It was the night I had agreed to marry him, the night that changed everything, or maybe more accurately, the night I had committed myself to my chosen future with Edward. It was also the night I had tried to seduce him into sleeping with me.

My cheeks burned slightly with the memory of that night and his bed, and I looked up to see comprehension on Edward's face. He knew what I was thinking about.

Edward smirked at me, and tried to smooth out his face as he asked, "What are you thinking about Bella?" His feigned innocence didn't convince me. He knew exactly what I was thinking about. He just wanted me to say it out loud.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied, taking a bite of dinner and chewing it forcefully to emphasize my point.

He leaned into me, lightly breathing on my neck as his lips approached my ear and he asked, "You don't understand why I want to know what you're thinking about sweet Bella?" He chuckled lightly and placed a kiss on my neck, right below my earlobe. I was in a haze. This kind of behavior still stunned me into silence and quickened my pulse.

When I had collected myself, I pushed my plate away, having decided I was done for the evening, and I turned to find his face just inches from mine. I know my pulse gave me away, but I wanted to tease him like he was teasing me. I reached up both hands to either side of his face and slowly touched him, running my fingers over his temples and my thumbs across his cheeks. I let out a breath and saw him close his eyes and lean closer to my face. He inhaled deeply to take in my scent and sighed when I continued to move my fingers over the planes of his face.

"I was thinking about spending more time with Alice, you know, planning the wedding. Doing girl stuff," I lied. Nothing would wound him more than claiming I would rather spend time with someone other than him. He opened his eyes, giving me a sharp look. He didn't buy it for one second.

"Oh, well I think that sounds great. Alice would love that. I'll call her…" he started as he pulled out his phone, but I cut him off before he could scroll to her number.

"Fine, you know I was thinking about you and the night I accepted your proposal," I relented. Why couldn't he just let me win? I started to pull away, but he held me close.

"I was thinking about that particular night myself," he admitted. "We've had a lot of good memories on that bed. Some frustrating memories too, but that night on my bed was the single greatest in my existence."

"I know how we could make that bed even better in my eyes," I joked.

"Everything is on your terms now Isabella. Everything," he replied, taking me way too seriously.

I pulled him in for a brief kiss, then told him, "I meant it when I said I wanted to wait. We're so close now. I am happy with pushing our boundaries like we have been. Very happy…" I murmured.

He smiled his crooked smile at me and stood, pulling me up with him. He grabbed my hand and started toward the stairs. Toward his room. Toward the bed. We arrived, and sure enough he pulled me over to the bed. He picked me up and sat me down on the edge with my legs dangling off the side. He stepped closer to the bed, between my legs and leaned over to kiss me softly, slowly.

He moved his kisses from my lips across my jaw to my ear where he whispered, "We have a couple of hours to improve the bed in your eyes. What would make you love the bed as much as I do?"

My pulse quickened to hummingbird levels and I started to stutter. Would I ever get to the point where I could be completely comfortable and confident with Edward? I was embarrassed by my embarrassment. I was still wearing the Alice-approved undergarments, and I needed to find the confidence to match. I said the first thing that came to mind.

"I very much enjoyed your missing shirt last night," I whispered back to him. He stiffed under my touch at those words. Where had that come from? I flushed, immediately regretting my moment of honestly until he pulled back from me to look into my eyes. The fire was back.

"Did you?" he questioned, his eyes smoldering. I nodded. He was grinning down at me, clearly enjoying both my honestly and embarrassment over that honesty. "I enjoyed my lack of shirt as well. I think you can make that happen again," he said, stepping as close as possible to me. He leaned over me and pushed me back further on the bed and crawled over me.

"How?" I asked. My voice wavered just the tiniest bit.

"You can take my shirt off," he replied simply, before kissing me soundly.

He lowered his hips so the bottom of his sweater was easily accessible to my hands. I broke my eyes away from his and looked down at his waist where my hands, apparently of their own accord, had moved to the bottom of his sweater. I toyed with him briefly, gently pushing the sweater up his back and running just the tips of my fingers over his now exposed sides. I looked up at his face to see him starring intently down at my face. It was the kind of look that made my stomach clench in a good way.

I had one of those moments of clarity right then. My gorgeous, sexy, brilliant and passionate fiancé was hovering over me waiting for me to peel his sweater off of his body. I was, without doubt, the luckiest girl on earth. No contest. I smiled at the thought and his intense stare broke and he smiled back at me, wiggling his hips a little to remind me to get back to the sweater removal process. I giggled and winked at him, then wagged my eyebrow a bit before pulling his sweater up and over his head. I struggled a bit with pulling it over his head and messed up his hair even more than it was previously. I pushed the sweater down his arms and he helped pull it off over his hands.

He tossed the shirt off of the bed and knelt over me with his knees on either side of my hips and his hands on either side of my head. I smiled up at him and he reciprocated my happy look. He bent to kiss my lips and as he did so he sneakily moved his hands to my sides. I was so lost in the kiss that I was surprised when he began to tickle my sides. I squealed like a small child.

"Edward!" I screamed kicking out, futilely attempting to break free from his hand which had grabbed my two wrists together. I knew I couldn't escape, but it didn't stop me from trying. I squirmed and screamed and tried desperately to pull away from his long fingers tickling my side.

"Please Edward!" I begged. He laughed in response. After a few more minutes of torture, he let me break free. I rolled away from him before kneeling and springing on to his chest. He let me push him backward onto the bed, pinning him there.

"Are you ticklish at all Edward?" I asked, running my fingers over his sides in an attempt to elicit a reaction. He shivered a bit, but confidently looked into my eyes and said, "Not at all, love."

I pouted. Of course he wasn't ticklish. I laid perpendicular over his stomach looking up at his face and traced patterns over his chest with my finger the same way he traced patterns over my back last night. He laid back with his hands behind his head while I used my finger as a pen to write him notes across his chest.

"_You are perfect_," I wrote. "_You are my everything. I cannot wait to be your wife. I love you so much_."

"I love you too," he murmured, clearly having understood everything I wrote out, " and I cannot wait to be your husband. I still cannot believe I found you after all these years. I have no clue what I have done to deserve you and your love in return. I don't deserve it, but I will do everything I can to keep you and to make you happy forever." He had looked up to watch my face as he said the words. My perfect, wonderful, loving fiancé.

I moved up his chest and pushed his hair back off of his forehead and continued to run my fingers through his hair. He smiled and I leaned in to kiss him. He let me take control of the situation. He wrapped his arms around my back, holding me to his chest as I continued to slowly and deliberately kiss him on his mouth, his cheeks, his eyelids, the tip of his nose, his chin – anywhere my mouth could reach. He practically purred underneath my, sighing in contentment and my ministrations.

I could sense our weekend was coming to a close when he shifted a bit under me. He made it harder to reach his face. We had been kissing for hours, or at least it felt like hours.

"They're home, aren't they?" I asked him.

"Yes, they are and it is probably time to take you home to Charlie," he replied, confirming my suspicion. He sounded appropriately disappointed, which comforted me some.

"I don't want to go back to Charlie's house yet," I whined. "I want to stay home with you. I don't want this weekend to be over yet and I feel like it will be the second I walk out the door."

"Love, we have the rest of time to be together. You need to appreciate the time you have with Charlie, no matter how much I don't want to share you with anyone," he said. He was right, which wasn't a surprise because he was always right about these types of things. I did need to be there for Charlie.

"You're right," I admitted, shifting to stand up off of the bed. Edward stood too and went to retrieve his sweater. I had to swallow down my disappointment as he put the sweater back into place in order to drive home with me. He came over and wrapped an arm around my waist as we made our way down to the living room. I paused and made plans with Alice for a dress fitting later in the week and a meeting with a bakery for the cake and a few other odds and ends which needed to be addressed.

Edward led me out to the garage and over to my new vehicle. I sighed, resigned to the fact I would be driving a car worth more than some people's homes. Edward smiled at me and offered to drive me home. I was profoundly relived when he said we could do driving lessons tomorrow instead of having to deal with them today. I was too tired to deal with relearning how to drive.

We were silent for the most part on the drive back to Charlie's house. How strange that I considered the Cullen's house my home these days. We held hands on the drive back and Edward walked me to the front door when we arrived at the house.

"Thank you for this weekend Edward. It really was amazing," I said, feeling kind of nervous, like I was on a first date and I wasn't sure if he was going to kiss me or not. Edward smiled.

"Of course love. Thank you for accepting the car, the credit card and the phone with such grace," he replied, pulling the phone and credit card to hand me with the keys of my new "before" car. "I'll be over in a couple of hours when Charlie is asleep," he said, sensing my unease at his departure. "Go be with Charlie for awhile. I'll be over in no time at all," he said with a smile.

"I love you," I said and he replied in kind, pulling me close to him for a kiss. He released me, letting me head inside to see Charlie and to anxiously count down the minutes until I would get to see him again. I guess now was as good a time as any to inform Charlie of my new mode of transportation.

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**I finally managed to finish up the weekend. This might be it for this story. I may start a new one with some glimpses of different parts of the summer before the wedding. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I really appreciate them all! I never realized how much review meant to the writer until I decided to write something myself. **


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